Can Democracy Survive the Disruptive Power of AI? – AI models enable malicious actors to manipulate information and disrupt electoral processes, threatening democracies.
https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2024/12/can-democracy-survive-the-disruptive-power-of-ai?lang=en
15 Comments
From the article
>Since the recent popularization of powerful generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems, there are growing fears that they will impact and [destabilize democracies](https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/how-ai-threatens-democracy/) in unforeseen ways. These emerging technologies, made famous by [large language models](https://cset.georgetown.edu/article/what-are-generative-ai-large-language-models-and-foundation-models/) (LLMs) like OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot, refer to algorithms that can produce new content based on the data they have been trained on. They can write text and music, craft realistic images and videos, generate synthetic voices, and manipulate vast amounts of information. While generative AI models hold tremendous potential for innovation and creativity, they also open the door to misuse in various ways for democratic societies. These technologies present significant threats to democracies by enabling malicious actors—from political opponents to foreign adversaries—to manipulate public perceptions, disrupt electoral processes, and amplify misinformation.
>With increased use of AI-generated content and a [cohort of countries](https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/2018/rise-digital-authoritarianism) moving toward digital authoritarianism by embracing AI-supercharged mass surveillance, the stakes could not be higher. Beyond generally introducing more complexity into the information environment and allowing the faster creation of higher-quality content by more people, generative AI models have the potential to impact democratic discourse by challenging the integrity of elections and further enabling digital authoritarianism. But this is just one facet of a larger issue: the collision between rapidly advancing AI technologies and the erosion of democratic safeguards. The intersection of digital authoritarianism and AI systems—from simpler AI technologies to the latest state-of-the-art LLMs—empowers autocratic governments both domestically and in their [foreign interference](https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/2023/repressive-power-artificial-intelligence) tactics, presenting a key challenge for twenty-first-century democracy.
Democracy barely survived newspapers. And didn’t in many countries. It needs to be fought for every day, or it will be lost. If AI makes it even easier to mess with, well, we’re in a pickle.
Wow that’s downright spooky. Imagine a world where shadowy, unaccountable forces manipulate public perceptions with unprecedented speed and efficiency. These forces could flood the information ecosystem with fabricated narratives, making it nearly impossible for citizens to discern truth from falsehood. They might amplify fringe ideas, eroding societal consensus and driving wedges between communities to maintain control through chaos.
These forces could undermine elections, targeting individuals with hyper-personalized propaganda to sway votes or suppress turnout. It might engineer the illusion of grassroots support for policies that benefit a tiny elite while hollowing out public institutions meant to safeguard democracy. Worse still, these technologies could supercharge surveillance, allowing those in power to monitor dissent, crush opposition, and maintain an iron grip over society under the guise of “security.”
In this dystopian vision, a handful of entities could effectively dictate the terms of public discourse. They might own the platforms through which ideas are exchanged, control the flow of information, and use their influence to rewrite the rules to ensure their own dominance. The very foundations of democratic governance could be reduced to window dressing, with the real power lying elsewhere.
Except AI has nothing to do with this problem!
While all those deep fakes etc. look so “harmless” at first, it is not… These “use cases” of GenAI have the potential to become a big destabilizer for society. AI-powered political influence is *far* up my list of “creepier AI use cases” (which I recently analyzed [in this article](https://upwarddynamism.com/2024/08/17/dark-arts-of-ai-6-creepy-ai-use-cases-you-may-not-know-about-yet/).) I believe what happened with Cambridge Analytica a few years ago, was just a forerunner of AI’s role in shaping public opinion…
Democracy won’t survive president musk to be disrupted by AI
Democracy is struggling to survive the disruptive power of social media. The AI amplification of this fact alone is going to be traumatic.
As per the comments made already – *Ohhh and democracy in such great shape!*
/s
LLMs are just another tool that can be used for propaganda. The question shouldn’t be, “is this new tool the one that will collapse democracy?”
The question should be, how do we protect our democracy from propaganda? This is of course many is a layered question and it starts with getting billionaires out of politics so that good policy can be implemented.
The real question is can democracy survive oligarchs who inevitably will be in control of any such AI
If we can figure out how to cryptograph content, to “stamp” the original so that we can look it up on chain, to see if the content is OG, we can in fact solve this. This is where development of crypto is actually something useful.
Democracy is failing with social media, bots, active disinformation and willfully ignorant population.
Democracy just elected a felon who’s moral compass is so broken he ran a fraudulent charity for kids with cancer.
Pretty sure democracy started packing its bags in the 1980’s and took the last flight out of DC at the turn of the millenium. It’s been a slide into an authoritarian plutocracy ever since.
Let’s be honest. Malicius actors were influencing the democracy even before the AI. It just got more effective.
Democacy didn’t even survive corporations and lobbies lmao
Can democracy survive the disruptive power of human leaders? Humans are malicious actors who manipulate information and disrupt electoral presses, threatening democracies.